In many applications, it is desirable to provide surfaces which are essentially optically flat and free of damage. Such surface characteristics are desired, for example, for semiconductor surfaces used for the growth of epitaxial layers or for the fabrication of semiconductor devices. Epitaxial growth defects and low device yields can often be attributed to the damage introduced into a semiconductor substrate during the polishing of the surface thereof. Such problems are particularly noticeable when the substrate surface is used for molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth where substrate surface preparation tends to be more critical than for liquid phase epitaxial (LPE) growth or vapor phase epitaxial (VPE) growth.